Rega Planar 1 Plus

Convenience and superb sound in a great package

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On its release in 2018, our reaction to Rega having finally developed a turntable with a builtin phono stage was a mixture of relief, anticipation and a fair bit of “about time, too”.

The Planar 1 Plus is essentially a Rega Planar 1 turntable with the Rega Fono Mini A2D built in. Both are Award-winning products, of course, and Rega says it felt only natural to combine them together. We absolutely agree.

Placing the Planar 1 Plus next to the Planar 1 results in a quick game of spot the difference. Apart from the logo printed in the corner, the two decks are virtually identical. The Planar 1 Plus uses the exact same platter, bearing, RB110 tonearm, Carbon MM cartridge, 24V synchronous AC motor and acrylic plinth as the original model. If you like the sleek, minimal design of the Planar 1 (in gloss white or gloss black finishes), you surely won't be disappointed with the Planar 1 Plus.

Setting it up is easy and fuss-free, too, with Rega helpfully marking exactly where the counterweight needs to go. And that's it, there's no need to adjust anything else on the turntable.

Any misgivings about the copy/paste design are met with the fact that all the updates are focused around the phono stage and hidden underneath a slightly modified plinth. But Rega hasn't simply taken the existing Fono Mini A2D and bolted it under the deck. It has been tweaked: the USB section has been taken out entirely, and the cost saving has gone into improving the audio quality of the phono stage. We think that's a fair trade.

Rhythmically exciting